Superman
by DeniseV
Summary: Rodney sticks it out for as long as he can after saving Atlantis from a killer storm and Kolya of the Genii. And Sheppard finally recognizes the superhero in front of him. A tag for the season one episode The Eye.


"Sheppard, hey, wait up," Rodney called as the major and Elizabeth headed out of the control room. He wanted to explain a few more important points about the systems before he headed to his room to clean up and catch some sleep. Despite the relief he felt in successfully saving the city, McKay had to admit that he felt like he was running on fumes. He needed to update Sheppard and Weir on a few other repair teams and the status of some of the science projects that had taken a beating during the storm before the last of the adrenaline oozed from his body; he needed to maintain some energy for the long walk to his quarters.

"I've got important stuff to do Rodney. Can it wait?" Major John Sheppard asked as he walked alongside Elizabeth Weir.

"Well, I guess…oh." Rodney McKay stopped walking and put his hand on the console before him. The room spun sickeningly. Momentarily disoriented, he moved away from the direction of the balcony, not quite sure now how close he really was, but knowing he needed to do what he could to keep from tripping over the rail and breaking his neck. The other thing that he knew for sure was that he was going down. The mute button seemed to have been turned on in his head; though he knew people were talking and the sounds of Atlantis were still there, he heard none of that. He crashed to the floor, sound finally returning with a loud thunk as the chair beside him softened his fall, nominally, but slammed loudly into the desk. John and Elizabeth turned just as Rodney hit the floor.

Sheppard ran over and kneeled next to McKay. "Hey, McKay, what's goin' on?" he asked as Rodney immediately tried to rise. "Lie still." Sheppard watched as Rodney closed his eyes.

"Uuh, I ate. What…um…I don't know what…" Rodney began to explain. He kept his head turned toward the desk, not focusing on anything as every effort at keeping his eyes open seemed to make things twirl around faster.

"Rodney, it's been a busy and stressful time," Elizabeth said. "You're probably just tired."

"No," John said as he cradled Rodney's 'bandaged' arm. "It's bleeding." He looked worriedly at Elizabeth. "Nobody's looked at this?" he asked McKay accusingly.

Rodney raised his head toward Sheppard. "I told you, Carson's busy," Rodney defended.

"It could be infected. Rodney, did you clean this at all?" John looked at the bandage wrapped overtop of the mangled and bloody sleeve. "Wait a minute, of course you didn't. You wrapped over your jacket." John shook his head and tapped his radio. "Carson, I need a med team to the control room."

"What's the matter? I'm a little busy just now," the physician said, sounding exhausted.

"Rodney fainted," John started.

"I did not faint. I just got dizzy, that's all. I'm fine," he argued as he tried to rise once again.

"Forget it, McKay. Stay put," John warned. "Carson, Rodney got sliced pretty good by one of Kolya's goons. I think it might be infected."

"Rodney, please lie still until Carson comes for you. You've earned a rest," Elizabeth pleaded, smiling through the concern. Rodney lay back with a frustrated sigh.

"Did he eat?" Carson asked.

"Yes, he ate," Rodney answered with disdain. "Don't you remember you told me to eat as you ran off to stitch someone else up?"

"I remember, Rodney, but since when do you ever listen to me?" Carson responded with equal contempt. Dr. Carson Beckett was obviously not having his best day as he would normally not have shot back at the scientist so rudely, and certainly not until he had determined that there was nothing to worry about regarding the scientist's sudden collapse.

"Well, Carson, if what you had to say ever really meant anything I might be inclined to listen."

"All right, that's enough," Elizabeth cautioned. "Carson, just get someone down here as soon as possible. Rodney did save the city, after all."

"See that? Superman," Sheppard joked lightly.

"Oh, so now I'm Superman?" Rodney said, truly sounding offended. Sheppard had the decency to act a little chagrined about his mocking comments earlier on the matter of McKay not being a superhero. Elizabeth didn't look like she felt any better about chiding the man either. It was a little bit scary how Rodney kept coming up with these amazing saves; how exactly did that 'not' qualify for superhero status?

"Can he walk, or should I send a gurney?" Carson asked. "We're very busy down here. Unless it's an emergency, we may be a while."

"I can walk," Rodney said irritably, but did not rise from his spot.

"I'll bring him to you Carson," John said as he helped Rodney to a seated position up against the console.

"Right," Carson answered, clearly distracted by other goings-on in the infirmary.

"How're you feeling?" John asked the scientist.

"Sick," he replied candidly, his eyes closed as he swallowed and breathed deeply through his nose. His mouth was closed tight, as though afraid of what might happen should he open it. John had to admit that Atlantis' chief science officer did look sick. Why had he not seen that just a few minutes earlier?

"You ready to get up?" Sheppard asked, his hand resting on McKay's back.

Rodney nodded yes, and started to push up, his left hand grasped tightly on the desk's edge as he kept his right arm up close to his body. Sheppard could see that the injury was hurting more now than it had been just an hour earlier. John steadied him all the way up, and held on as McKay swayed slightly once upright. Rodney groaned, and carefully opened his eyes. Elizabeth's worried face stared back at him.

"I'm fine," he said to her. He could tell that he hadn't reassured anyone with the comment.

"No, you're not. But you will be. You'll take him down?" Elizabeth asked John.

"I'll take good care of him," Sheppard smiled back. Rodney made no comment, and that told both Elizabeth and John all they needed to about just how 'fine' Rodney McKay really was.

The two men walked slowly and quietly down the now safe hallway to Beckett's infirmary. Rodney weaved slightly, but was easily righted with a light touch from Sheppard.

"You saved Elizabeth today. I'm thinking you racked up some points with her for that," Sheppard said teasingly to his friend.

"No. That was you. What I did was more for self-preservation," Rodney answered.

"No it wasn't. You know you didn't need Weir for any codes or to help with the repairs. Elizabeth told me what you did. Every step, once things starting going to hell, you were thinking of what you had to do to keep Kolya from hurting her."

Rodney rubbed his injured arm with his hand. He looked down as he felt something wet. Blood. And looking down wasn't helping him walk any straighter. He weaved more, and John blocked him from falling into the wall.

"Hey, are you okay?" John asked worriedly. Rodney seemed to grow paler the farther along the corridor they progressed.

"I'd like to sit," Rodney admitted in a rare unguarded moment for the physicist.

"We're almost there." McKay leaned into Sheppard as they closed in on Carson's domain. "What you did, Rodney, to help Elizabeth? That wasn't superhero stuff. That was just plain heroic."

Rodney pulled away from John's grasp, and fell back into the opposite wall. "Careful," John said as he held onto Rodney's good arm.

"I gave up the plan to save the city! That's not heroic!" Rodney yelled, the shame and despair in what he'd done clear in the distressed voice.

"Rodney," John said in a calming tone, "they tortured you." He took McKay's injured arm gently into his hand. Rodney's hand felt cold to the touch, though sweat liberally adorned his forehead. "This is what they did to you when you didn't talk. I don't think many people would blame you for what you did."

"I saw it in Elizabeth's eyes. The disappointment," Rodney admitted.

"I'm sure she's not disappointed. Maybe momentarily, when she thought we might lose Atlantis to the Genii. But you tripped them up. Again."

"I should have been able to hold out, shouldn't I?" he asked. Sad, pleading eyes looked to Sheppard.

"No. I don't want you to think that. You have amazing instincts, Rodney. You're usually dead-on right about everything. It'd be nice if you were a little more self-effacing about it, but I don't want you to start doubting how you should act in a given situation. You did good. You did great."

Rodney looked only slightly mollified by the positive feedback from the military leader of Atlantis. But that was better than the sad, pleading Rodney of just seconds ago.

"Okay," Rodney said quietly. He started to sag and then said, "I'm going to sit now."

"Nope, you're not." Sheppard held him up. "We only have a few yards to go." Both men looked up at the sound coming from the end of the hall. "Ah, look at that. Your ride."

"Hi, Carson."

"Hello, Rodney. We could hear you all the way in the examination room. You didn't tell me everything earlier, now did you lad?" The chief medical officer helped Rodney take a seat in the wheelchair.

"I told you everything I knew," Rodney allowed.

"He dropped like a ton of bricks, Doc. I don't think he knew he was that bad off," Sheppard enlightened the physician.

"I's no' that bad," Rodney slurred. "Adren'lin'," McKay added. A thumbs-down sign was Rodney's exclamation point for the strange communication attempt; finished off with the loudest 'raspberry' that either John or Carson had heard in, well, at least since the last time that they had played cards. That it came from Rodney McKay made the moment more than surreal.

"He's exhausted," Beckett noted.

"Maybe a little punch-drunk, I'd say," Sheppard observed. Rodney giggled at the comment.

"I guess your diagnosis beats mine this time, Major," Dr. Carson Beckett conceded.

"That doesn't make me feel any better. I'm going to hang out while you check him out," John said as he stopped in front of the infirmary bed and helped Carson get McKay comfortably resting on it.

"Thought you had important stuff to do," Rodney said tiredly as the heavy breathing of sleep started to overtake his exhausted and hurting friend.

John thought back to earlier in the control room when he'd tried to blow Rodney McKay off. He would kick himself if he could; thoughtless and inconsiderate bastard. There really wasn't anything more important that he needed to get to. He had been so sure at the time that Rodney was milking the injury, seeking sympathy like he often did. Rodney yearned for attention, but his arrogance and know-it-all demeanor was off-putting, to say the least. But the fact was that he saved Atlantis. Rodney McKay's brilliant idea, and another brilliant mind to kick ideas off of in Radek Zelenka, with an assist in the execution from he and Elizabeth, had saved the city and many, many lives. The man deserved a little extra attention for that.

"Nah," John said lightly. "There's nothing more important that I can think of," Sheppard added as he watched McKay ease into sleep. "Superman," he added under his breath.

The End.


End file.
